Neuroscience research at UCL bolstered by £29m HEFCE grant

10 July 2017

A team led by
Professor Michael Hanna, Director of the UCL Institute of Neurology, has won a £28,850,000
infrastructure award from the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE)
to support the improvement of UCL’s research facilities, which will enable UCL
to deliver on its aim to create the world’s leading translational neuroscience
environment.

The project
will bring together the UCL Institute of Neurology at Queen Square and the UK Dementia Research Institute at UCL, the
operational headquarters of the UK DRI which is leading the national dementia
research effort. The project will facilitate interdisciplinary research across
the university to find better ways to diagnose and treat patients with devastating
neurological disorders such as dementia, stroke and epilepsy, that
represent a major health and economic burden in the UK and globally.

The funding from
the HEFCE-managed UK Research Partnership Investment Fund will provide new
integrated spaces for laboratories, drug discovery and experimental neurology,
and will drive even closer collaboration with industry, funders and patients.

The project is also benefiting from the generosity
of numerous philanthropists. The largest matching contribution came from the
partnership UCL has developed with a consortium of retailers who are donating
the levy on plastic carrier bags to the UCL Dementia research initiative,
namely Iceland, ASDA, HSS Hire, Morrisons, and Waitrose.

In addition, UCL has
formed partnerships with medical charities and industry partners that include the
National Brain Appeal, the Brain Research Trust, Muscular Dystrophy UK, the
Epilepsy Society, the MS Society, the Stroke Association, the Wolfson
Foundation, Alzheimer’s Research UK, the Reta Lila Weston Trust for Medical Research,
Eisai Co., Ltd and GSK.

"This major award
significantly advances progress towards our vision to create the world’s
leading centre for translational neuroscience which will enable us to find
treatments, train the next generation and work in close partnerships with
industry, funders and patients." Professor
Michael Hanna (UCL Institute of Neurology)

"I am delighted with
this substantial award which is critical for our plans to develop a brand new
state of the art facility at UCL to house the headquarters of the UK Dementia
Research Institute and the UCL Institute of Neurology. It underlines UCL’s
commitment to leading the fight to find therapies for dementia and neurological
diseases." Professor Alan
Thompson, Dean of the Faculty of Brain Sciences

"This is a fantastic boost for our
plans to develop the world’s leading centre for translational neuroscience and
to lead internationally in tackling dementia." Professor
David Lomas (UCL Vice-Provost, Health)

"I am thrilled with this major infrastructure
award from HEFCE which recognises the power of UCL Neuroscience. I want to
thank all the donors who have supported this important work and made this award
possible. This clearly demonstrates the combined power of
philanthropy from individuals, trusts and foundations, charities and the
corporate sector. Philanthropy founded UCL in 1826 and has helped us ever since
to break down traditional barriers of thought to produce new knowledge that
transforms lives and society." UCL President
& Provost, Professor Michael Arthur

About the UK Research
Partnership Fund:

UKRPIF is
managed by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE), in
collaboration with the other three UK higher education funding bodies, with
proposals assessed by an independent assessment panel.

The
scheme supports higher education research in areas of research excellence to
attract investment, and to strengthen the contribution of research to the
economy.

UKRPIF was first launched with £100 million of
public finance in May 2012. In response to the large number of high-quality
bids, the Government tripled the public support to £300 million in autumn 2012
and ran a second round of the special funding initiative. In June 2013, the
Government announced a further two rounds of UKRPIF, extending it to 2016-17
and making available an additional £200 million to be allocated over two years.
An additional £400 million of funding was announced for UKRPIF in the 2015
budget for the period to 2021, taking the total government investment in the
fund to £900 million.